


Sweet But Deadly

by naomi24



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bodyguard, M/M, Strangers to Lovers, Tsundere Jongdae
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-26
Updated: 2019-09-26
Packaged: 2020-10-28 20:22:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,978
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20784548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/naomi24/pseuds/naomi24
Summary: Jongdae never thought he'd like his job and Yixing never thought he'd find a friend in the form of his bodyguard.





	Sweet But Deadly

**Author's Note:**

> This work was written for the Xingdae Fic Fest (Round 1) organized by Xingdae Café.
> 
> Prompt #19002
> 
> Hello! I just want to thank you for giving a prompt that I connected with. I'm not sure if this is what you had imagine, but I hope you like it! Or at least not hate it haha
> 
> You mentioned that you thought of this prompt because how Jongdae is good at everything, but he struggled with Mandarin. So I followed that thought and I made him struggle in other aspects in his life. You'll see that in this story! I won't say more spoilers, so enjoy!
> 
> A big thank you to Alexa for coddling me and making sure that I finished this. She even made me rewrite the ending because she wanted fluff for once (if you know her, she's pro angst). So please send her your gratitude or your favorite haikyuu gif as a thank you. You can tweet her @xingnini.

~ Fall 2015 ~

“And we’d like to bestow this order of military merit to Kim Jongdae for his bravery and outstanding military services in Somalia,” the speaker announces into the silent room.

Jongdae stands beside him with a blank expression and a distracted mind. He’s barely paying attention to the speech, only noticing the ending when everyone starts to clap.

He bows to the governor before accepting the medal as the governor-general pins it into his jacket.

As the speaker continues to the next person, Jongdae looks at his medal momentarily and wonders why all of these people  _ crave _ this award.

_ It’s really just some ribbon glued together with some jewel  _ \-- he thinks to himself before looking back to the audience.

It wasn’t his intention to win this award. In fact, he was just doing his job and somehow, he ended up saving more people than he originally thought. He supposes that he’s just  _ good _ at his job than most people.

But Baekhyun would disagree with that sentiment. He always thought that Jongdae was the child of two assassins and that his talent is simply genetics hard at work.

This is the same Baekhyun that thinks that the tooth fairy exists and that she’s being extremely racist for never taking his baby teeth away. 

You don’t need to be a genius to see the flaws of Baekhyun’s mind. 

But at least the elder has  _ some _ redeeming qualities. 

Not like his old partner who was the definition of disaster, and possibly the most incompetent person he has ever met in life. It was a match in heaven when Sunggyu got assigned to desk duty, and he could almost hear the sigh of relief from everyone.

In any case, he’s still stuck in this boring ceremony while trying to look happy. It’s getting harder to fake nicety and he can see the warning stares from his supervisor. Unfortunately, Jongdae is past caring about Junmyeon’s feelings, let alone these strangers’ feelings.

It’s a good thing that Baekhyun is good at steering Jongdae away from unneeded interactions.

“Loosen up a bit,” the elder teases. “It’s a party for you. Have some wine,” he shoves a glass into Jongdae’s hand.

Jongdae glares at the offensive glass. He’s not much of an alcohol person, preferring to release his stress through boxing.

“Can’t I go now?” he says with a frown.

“Junmyeon says in half an hour,” Baekhyun shrugs.

Jongdae sighs loudly and luckily the noise is swallowed over conversations nearby.

“Hyung! Congratulations” Sungjae tells him as he pats the elder’s shoulder.

“Thank you,” Jongdae says blandly despite Sungjae being his teammate.

The other three members of his group come and congratulate him too, followed by Junmyeon.

“Does it kill you to smile more?” the elder sounds tired already of nagging him.

“Yes,” Jongdae simply says.

Junmyeon lets out an irritated sigh while the rest ignore him.

A photographer approaches them as he requests a photograph of Jongdae’s team.

“Do we have to?” Jongdae mumbles, holding the urge to roll his eyes.

Baekhyun pulls him to the center while Junmyeon threatens him with new recruits training if he doesn’t smile.

The finished picture isn’t the best, but he smiled and it’s decent enough to be framed in Junmyeon’s office. It might be the last formal picture they’ll ever take together.

  
  


~ February 2016 ~

“There were no comments from the Blue House when we contacted them, but it’s clear that they’re trying to fix this situation…”

Jongdae shuts the TV off in frustration.

A month ago, he was the most decorated agent in his agency, and today, he’s not even sure if he’s still got a job.

He doesn’t even know how it happened. It was a simple mission that was supposed to go well, but instead, everything went wrong. And now, there were multiple deaths and someone has to be blamed.

Jongdae wishes that it won’t be him, but he knows that it’s unlikely. Especially since his team followed his commands and if they hadn’t, then maybe the situation wouldn’t have escalated.

It’s too late to wonder ifs and buts. He can only pray that he doesn't lose his job. He wouldn't know where to go if that happened. His skills are only applicable to saving a person’s life or to kill someone with little trace behind. How would he transfer those skills into ordinary jobs?

He doesn't know the answer to that and he hopes that he wouldn't need to.

  
  


~ March 2016 ~

"You mean like a bodyguard?" Jongdae frowns.

Junmyeon just told him the verdict of his case. The government didn't want to lose an asset, but they also couldn't let his mistake be ignored. Therefore, they decided to transfer Jongdae out of his unit and put him into a different program. One where he's tasked to oversee the safety of a Chinese official.

"It's not like that," Junmyeon tries to remedy. "I mean, yes, it is technically watching over someone, but  _ you _ get to decide on his safety. You're basically your own boss!"

Jongdae frowns even more.

He didn't train with the best only to dwindle down to become someone's bodyguard.

"Look," Junmyeon starts to sound more serious than before. "It was either this or becoming a desk jockey for the rest of your life, and you're too good for that kind of job."

Jongdae remains silent at his words.

"Plus, who knows? Maybe if you do well on this, you might end up protecting our president in the future,” Junmyeon suggests with a cheery tone.

Jongdae gives him a deadpan expression, criticizing him for even suggesting that. His life’s goal isn’t about protecting some chum. No, he wanted to lead his own team and become the best agent in Korea.

But now, everything he hoped for feels out of reach and impossible. It frustrates him and he wishes that reality was different.

“Just think about it,” Junmyeon says in the end as he pats the younger’s back.

~ ~ ~

“What did hyung say?” Baekhyun asks him once they meet in their favourite restaurant.

Jongdae shrugs since he doesn’t really feel like talking about it. He’d rather drink his problems away, and maybe,  _ just maybe _ , he can die from alcohol poisoning.

“I don’t really know the exact details, but I did hear they’re transferring you out,” the elder says softly. “That sucks, you know. We’ve been together since the start, and it’ll be weird not having you in the same team anymore.”

Jongdae shrugs again, not knowing what to say. He’s never been good with words, and Baekhyun has always been good at it. In retrospect, he knew he was seen as aloof towards people, even to his team, but somehow that aloofness is what made him a good leader to his team. They knew how to work with him without many words said in between.

He takes another shot of soju as he realizes how much he’ll miss his team.

“I speak for the whole team when I say that we’ll all miss you,” Baekhyun says in the end before silence encompasses them.

Jongdae takes two more shots before Baekhyun reaches out to touch his hand.

“I wouldn’t want to talk either if I was you, but I’m around if you ever need me,” the elder said with a small smile. “or if you just want to get drunk,” he jokes in the end. 

The younger grunts before slowly releasing his breath. Still feeling slightly emotional by everything that had happened.

“Anyway,” Baekhyun says with a little bit of happiness. “I was going to tell you the other day, but it flew off my mind. I asked him out!” he blushes a little as he recalls the experience. “I was  _ so _ nervous, but he said I looked so cute when I ramble, so yeah. It’s happening,” he ends the story with much confidence.

“Oh,” the younger comments. “That’s good,” he says in the end.

“I know,” Baekhyun sighed dreamily. “And I’m so happy that he works in the agency because that means he already knows my crazy hours and unexpected calls.”

“Right.”

“You should try it too,” the elder teases. “You’re not that bad looking.”

Jongdae rolls his eyes at that. As if he has the time to care about his love life when his work life is on the verge of death. Plus, he has never really liked a person that much before.

“Not really my thing,” the younger ends up saying.

“That’s what they all say before something good happens,” Baekhyun smirks but drops the topic nonetheless.

  
  


~ April 2016 ~

Jongdae stares at the tall building, feeling turned off by the expensive decoration. He’s supposed to meet some paper pusher by the name of Luhan who’ll judge his qualities before deciding if he should be hired. He doesn’t really understand  _ why _ . It’s not like the hundreds of achievements in his file aren’t enough to protect some weak ambassador, but apparently, the ambassador is quite picky about his protective details, and Jongdae is resisting the urge to roll his eyes and say  _ Screw this _ .

Despite wanting to quit and possibly become a freelancer, he knew that he wouldn’tbe happy working for an unknown person, who may or may not be an evil person. He’d rather work a boring job than have a guilty conscience. After all, he didn’t train to become a great agent just so he could be labelled as a traitor in the end.

So he sucks up the feeling of contempt and goes inside the building.

He quickly finds the right floor and waits in some fancy office before someone comes in.

“Hey, I’m so sorry for the wait,” Luhan greets him. “I’m Luhan,” he extends his hand towards Jongdae.

“Hello, hyung,” Jongdae takes his hand and bows in greeting. They both sit down before Luhan starts talking.

“I’ve been looking at your file,” he says as he opens the file. “Normally, I get recommendations of soldiers who recently graduated, but yours is quite different. Though I heard your story from Junmyeon, I do wonder why you’re choosing this option instead of the others. This job is quite simple compared to the missions you’re used to.”

“It’s a change of pace for me,” Jongdae lies to him. “I feel that I needed a different environment from before and I wanted something that’s not as fast-paced.”

Luhan hums before continuing.

“Well, it’s certainly not as complicated as your last job, but my friend  _ can _ make your life a bit complicated. He can be  _ peculiar _ if I have to describe it.”

“Odd habits?”

“Hmm, not really,” Luhan says truthfully. “He just scares easily, and it doesn’t help that he’s getting death threats recently. I just want to make sure he’ll be safe during his post here.”

“I see.”

“What do you think? Will it be hard to work with someone who’s skittish?”

“No,” Jongdae says simply without explaining further.

“Why is that?” Luhan ends up asking.

“He’s more likely to listen to me than to run off and be a hero,” Jongdae explains.

The elder looks at him with an amused expression.

“That is true,” he notes. “Though he does have a tendency to hide rather than calling for help.”

“I’m not unfamiliar with hide and seek,” the younger shrugs.

Luhan raises an eyebrow before replying.

“Alright then. How about we give this a trial run?” the elder suggests. “Let’s see if he’ll warm up to you within a month.”

“Okay,” Jongdae agrees and stands up before bowing to say goodbye.

Luhan bows back before watching Jongdae leave his office. He finally understands why Junmyeon told him that the younger isn’t much of a talker.

~ ~ ~

If Jongdae has to be honest, this job is possibly the most boring job in the world. He wonders if people have committed suicide from how boring it is because  _ he _ certainly has thought about it.

His morning routine is almost the same as before. Awake by 5, he does his morning run before getting ready for the day. The only difference is heading towards the embassy building rather than walking to his old office. The change feels weird at first, but he's starting to get used to the fact that he's no longer an agent for the government.

The other change is how his life now revolves around ambassador Zhang Yixing. As one of the youngest politicians from China, Yixing is well connected to the communist party and has enough influence to quickly rise from being a diplomat to becoming an ambassador. Due to this, he has gained enough enemies to warrant death threats and he's worried about the safety of his parents. Luckily, his parents will be safe in China, under the protection of the party, but Yixing's safety in Korea is not guaranteed.

Therefore, the party requested a capable bodyguard for Yixing, and this is where Jongdae comes in.

Jongdae himself doesn't find the job difficult. If anything, he's probably overqualified for this task. In his boredom, he'd waste time by sharpening his knife, the one that he hides inside his boot. The blade has been with him since his first day at training camp, and he has used it for numerous rescue missions. Other than that, it's also useful for cutting fruits and the occasional tough meat.

Most of the days are filled with boring meetings and occasional diplomatic events. Some of the people he sees are always the same people, and sometimes he'd see new faces. By the beginning of May, he has memorized their names and knows their roles.

If there's one thing he likes about his job, it's how funny it is when Yixing gets scared of something. Unlike most people who'd react by jumping up or walking away, Yixing seems to think that  _ hiding _ from his fear will make it easier.

It's evident in the way he tries to hide behind trees or lampshades or even a tall person as Jongdae shoos away the fiftieth bird of this week. He still doesn't quite understand the ambassador's fears though. Especially since these birds are not even standing 5 feet near to him. Nevertheless, Jongdae knows better than to publicly judge someone's fears, so he simply does his job without complaints. At least the ambassador trusts him enough to want his protection.

  
  


~ May 2016 ~

Yixing is wary about everything. Ever since the death threats came, he's been jittery about opening things, walking outside, or even going home alone. He doesn't even know who to trust in his embassy, worried that one of them might be a spy, but Luhan kept insisting to him that he's safe and everyone has been checked out by the government. Therefore, Yixing tries to relax and not imagine what his dead body would look like if he were to die inside his office. He shakes those thoughts out and focuses on his work. 

At first, it worked well. He was able to maintain a normal life.

Then, Luhan told him that he'd have a bodyguard, one that'd keep him safe no matter what. He was excited and he thought that he'd finally feel safe and not worry about his life anymore.

But after seeing what his new bodyguard can do with a knife, he begins to think that he might be dangerously wrong.

There are thoughts in his head that suggest that his bodyguard is actually an assassin sent to kill him while he's not looking. There is also a small number of thoughts that said his bodyguard is nice. Otherwise, why would Jongdae save him from the evil birds so many times?

_ Maybe it's all a ploy to gain your trust before poisoning you with cyanide  _ \-- his brain supplies.

Yixing doesn't want to believe that. He knows that Luhan would make sure that Jongdae isn't evil. Right?

So he tries to suppress those bad thoughts and tries to trust Jongdae. After all, if he can't trust his bodyguard, who else can he trust?

~ ~ ~

_ Nope, this is not happening to me!  _ \-- Yixing says to himself as he panics in the hallway.

He runs through the hall, uncaring of the weird stare he received from a janitor. His eyes dart back and forth, looking for the perfect door to open. 

_ There! _

He sees the right door, one that isn't likely to be locked but is known to have a lock mechanism. He pulls it open with a bit too much force, and closes it gently, hoping no one can hear the small click sound.

Then, he rushes behind a desk, and goes under it, thinking it's the perfect hiding place because his legs are hidden.

He's panting through his breaths before dialing the familiar numbers, trembling with anxiety and fear.

"Hey…" a voice answers and Yixing almost replies in glee, but his situation is too grim to do that.

"Get me out of here!" He ends up half yelling at Luhan. "He's going to kill me!"

"Who?!" Luhan asked worriedly.

"That new bodyguard you got me! He said that his knife is getting dull and he started sharpening it in front of me. I really think he's going to use it on me."

"What? I'm sure it's just your imagination…"

"I'm serious," Yixing hisses. "He even said he knows how to kill with a paperclip while keeping it clean. What does that mean?! How do I stay safe when there are thousands of paperclips in this building?!"

"Calm down," Luhan laughs. "He was probably just bragging."

"And then this morning, I accidentally dropped coffee on his shoes, and he looked like he was going to kill me! I'm serious, Luhan. He's going to cut me up in pieces and distribute my body parts to the black market."

"Yixing! Calm down. You're fine. He's not going to kill you. We made sure to double-check his background, and he's really skilled at his job."

"But he doesn't even understand Mandarin that well. I had to struggle this morning to show him how to work the printer!"

"Yes, I know. He's rusty, but he's a quick learner. He's going to catch up soon enough."

"But…"

Yixing doesn't get a chance to finish his sentence before hearing a weird noise above. He looks up and wonders what's going on. Then, he hears a loud thud and a piece of the ceiling comes off before Jongdae falls through the hole.

"AHHH" Yixing screams in shock, dropping his phone as he panics and presses himself against the desk.

"There you are," Jongdae says with a very thick accent. "Appointment at 3?"

Yixing shakes his head in fear, not wanting to get out under the desk.

Jongdae glares at him as if the action would appease the ambassador.

"Yixing?! What happened?!" They can hear someone through the phone.

Yixing scrambles to get the phone.

"He's here," Yixing whimpers. "He found me and now he's going to kill me!"

"Oh, for fuck’s sake," Luhan groans. "Pass the phone to him."

"No! He's going to take it from me and then I can't call for help!"

"You're not even  _ calling _ for help. You called someone who's not even inside the city," Luhan makes a very good point. "Just put your phone on speaker so that he can hear me."

"Okay…" Yixing mumbles before tapping the speakerphone button. He still grips the phone tightly just in case Jongdae tries to take it away.

"Jongdae, can you hear me? This is Luhan," he says in Hangul, and Yixing notices the change of expression in Jongdae's face.

"Oh, hello hyung," Jongdae greets him nicely. Yixing stares suspiciously at how Jongdae is suddenly very kind towards Luhan.

"Didn’t I warn you before that Yixing is skittish?” Luhan scolds him. “What were you doing to him?"

“Nothing,” Jongdae shrugs. “I was just following him so I could tell him that his appointment is coming up."

" _ Following _ him?" Luhan asks in a stressed tone. "You're supposed to keep track of him. There's no  _ following _ in your job description."

"So if he were to die in the bathroom, it's not my fault then?" Jongdae asks sarcastically.

Luhan can only groan in frustration.

"Fine, whatever. Just keep your distance from now on. Also, can you do your knife sharpening habit elsewhere? Like at your  _ own _ house? He's not used to that sort of thing," Luhan explains to him.

"Okay," Jongdae shrugs.

“Yixing? Are you still there?” Luhan calls out, this time replying in Mandarin.

“Yeah,” he says almost too quietly.

“Are you alright now?”

“I don’t know,” he says warily as he avoids Jongdae’s gaze.

“I told him to not follow you anymore. You’re going to be fine. Don’t worry about him anymore,” Luhan reassures him.

“He could still throw the knife at me,” he mumbled.

“Don’t exaggerate,” the elder groans. “He’s not a killer and you’re safe. I promise you.”

“Does he have to keep the knife?”

“Yes,” Luhan replies exasperatedly. “It’ll be fine. I’m always a call away in case anything else happens. Now, can you stop hiding and go to your next meeting? I thought you hate being late.”

“I do,” Yixing mumbles, slowly looking up.

Jongdae remains expressionless while he stands, but at least the younger isn’t glaring at him anymore.

Yixing slowly crawls out from under the desk and walks closer to the wall so Jongdae isn’t too close to him.

“Are you out now? I have to go soon. Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Thanks,” Yixing mumbles.

“Alright. I’ll call you later tonight,” Luhan says before hanging up.

Yixing looks at Jongdae again, noticing how the younger is just waiting for him to exit. So he runs out in nervousness and almost got lost in his own embassy if Jongdae didn’t try to catch his attention. At least, they made in time for that meeting.

  
  


~ June 2016 ~

“You’re pretty good at fixing things,” Yiyang, one of the embassy workers, compliments him in Mandarin.

Jongdae is having a rather slow day so they asked his help to fix the broken coffee pot.

“It’s okay,” he replies back in Mandarin.

Apparently, the staff in the embassy mostly speak Mandarin, so he’s forced to learn it. He’s taking lessons in his spare time and he can only memorize the easy sentences for now. 

At first, he thought it’d be an easy experience, like the time he learned English, but he was wrong. Mandarin felt four times harder and he  _ hated _ the constant language barrier.

“I bet he’s one of those quick learners that would excel in anything after like a week,” his new friend, Jungah, says. Unlike Yiyang, she’s Korean and is nice enough to help Jongdae with translating some of his words. Unfortunately, she can’t follow him around everywhere, so he still struggles whenever he goes out with Yixing.

“I’m not that good,” he replies curtly despite wanting to say more. He’s just limited with simple vocabulary.

“You’re too modest,” Yiyang laughs. “Did you know that the other day he fixed the air ventilation upstairs?” she tells Jungah. “Mr. Xu was so impressed by it. He kept complimenting him the whole day!”

“Wow, really?” Jungah says in surprise.

Jongdae can only stare at them in confusion. He can catch a few words, but not the meaning behind it.

“Yeah! I swear he’s  _ great _ at everything. Not just his job,” she wiggles her eyebrows before laughing.

Jungah laughs along before telling Yiyang to go do her job before her boss notices.

“What happened?” Jongdae asks in confusion.

“Nothing,” Jungah smiles. “She was just complimenting you.”

“Oh.”

“You’re making a good impression these days. Are you trying to make everyone love you or something?” she teases.

“No,” he blanches. “I just like helping people who need it.”

“Why didn’t you become a cop then?”

“Not enough pay,” he says truthfully before shrugging.

She seems to think of it as a joke since she laughs, but Jongdae rarely makes a joke for the sake of it.

“They’re holding an event on August 2nd and I heard they’re inviting a few officials from China,” Jongdae changes the topic. “Should I learn some sentences for it? What if they try to talk to me?”

“I doubt they’d talk to one of the bodyguards,” Jungah laughs at his naivete. “You’ll be standing by his side, but they won’t acknowledge you.”

“What if I want to talk to other bodyguards?” Jongdae reasons.

“And ask what? How bored they are?”

Jongdae shrugs. He thinks it’s better than pretending to be a muted bodyguard on the side.

“It’s better if you keep quiet anyway,” Jungah advice. “They might not like you too much if you dare to speak. At least, that’s what I’ve heard so far.”

“Okay,” Jongdae ends up agreeing despite feeling unsettled by the idea of becoming a mute.

“How’s work going? Is he warming up to you yet?” Jungah asks.

“It’s okay,” Jongdae shrugs, not really sure on what to say. 

He doesn’t expect the ambassador to like him that quickly. Most people take months to warm up to him, and a few rare ones, like Jungah, don’t take offence to his offstandish nature.

He knows that his friend is just worried though. He can appreciate people who care for him back.

  
  


~ July 2016 ~

As the weeks pass by, Jongdae starts to notice the tension between employees as they prepare for the big event on August 2nd. There are more people running back and forth in the hallways, and sometimes he sees an employee crying in the bathroom due to the tremendous pressure of getting things ready. He doesn’t really understand what’s the big deal about this event, and he can’t ask his friend Jungah about it since she’s also busy. Therefore, he just observes and wonders if he can somehow help them.

Unfortunately, he finds himself occupied once he sees how the ambassador himself is also struggling to prepare. He learned a few weeks ago that Yixing is the type to work through hunger and would probably  _ die _ from hunger if someone didn’t make him eat. In the embassy, his assistant would be the one making sure that the elder eats and drinks every few hours, but at home, no one is there to care for him. So sometimes Jongdae ends up seeing the elder ignore the growls from his stomach and he feels the urge to feed him, but he realizes that he's still Yixing’s subordinate. He’s not allowed to behave too casual with him, let alone force-feed him. 

Despite that restriction, Jongdae tries to find better ways to help Yixing. His plan won’t involve direct contact, which is great for Yixing since he’s still wary of him, and he just needs the help of Yixing’s personal chef.

He asks the chef to make dinner much earlier than usual so he can place the food into the study room while Yixing is occupied in the bathroom. He takes his time setting the food in the right place, far enough that it won’t contaminate the ambassador’s papers, but close enough that Yixing will get tempted to eat it. He even puts granola bars into one of the drawers, just in case the elder gets more hungry. For the final touch, he puts the chef’s note near the plate. It simply says to enjoy the food. It’s a precaution in case Yixing thinks the food is poisonous.

Now, Jongdae just has to wait and see if Yixing will eat dinner again. He waits patiently in the living room as he reads a book. He finally finds his opportunity when the elder goes to the bathroom. He peeks inside the room and sees that the food has been eaten. It’s a win for him as he sighs in relief, and he doesn’t realize how happy it made him feel until he sees the smile on his face.

Nevertheless, he continues doing this action unbeknownst to Yixing. He reasons that he’s doing this because he wants to be seen as a good bodyguard. He doesn’t seem to realize the protectiveness that develops within him overtime.

It shows whenever he sees Yixing arguing with fellow staff and he starts to hover behind him with an intense glare. It only took two occasions before the staff becomes scared of Jongdae’s figure and Yixing is left confused whenever they run away from seeing him.

Thankfully, it doesn’t ruin the ambassador’s relationship with his employees, but it does make everyone more scared of Jongdae. He doesn’t mind it. It makes his life easier if he’s not forced to talk in Mandarin. Although, Jungah doesn’t find it funny as she scolds him heavily for indirectly threatening employees, and he’s forced to keep his cold attitude to a minimum.

~ ~ ~

Yixing feels exhausted as August nears and his schedule seems more packed than usual. He doesn’t quite understand why everyone has to double-check their work with him. He’s not their professor, so he’s not strict with format and styling, but apparently, it’s normal in Korea’s culture to be a bit extreme when it comes to the details.

He can barely keep up with his appearance, noticing the dark layers under his eyes, and he doesn’t have time to exercise lately so he feels the heaviness of his body. It’s too tiring, but he keeps his eyes on the approaching deadline, August 2nd. It’s only a week away and he’s sure that he can withstand seven more days of hell.

Despite his weird fears and peculiar habits, Yixing is known by his colleagues as a hard-working person. It is why he gives encouragement to his staff to give their best effort for the next few days and he doesn’t slack off to show that he’s in this with them. 

There are times when the exhaustion is too much for him and he ends up napping in his office, despite knowing it’s past office hours. He just can’t find the energy to get up and go home right away. By the time he wakes up, he feels a blanket over his bent body and the smell of delicious food wafting through his nose.

He’s curious on who’d be kind enough to take care of him, but he doesn’t question it much as he eats it and puts the blanket back into the back of the chair.

He exits his office close to 9 pm and he sees Jongdae reading some book in the office chair. It’s been weeks since their incident and Yixing is slowly getting used to the younger’s presence. He still finds Jongdae a bit intimidating, but it’s not as bad as it was before. He’s starting to like the fact that the younger is always nearby since it gives him comfort in his safety.

He thinks they might get along in an alternate universe, but in this universe, they’re simply casual colleagues who nod at each other to signal ‘it’s time to go’.

  
  


~ August 2016 ~

Jongdae notices how there are a lot of people tonight, and it makes him a little anxious at the possibility of a surprise attack. Although it is unlikely that would happen since he has researched the backgrounds of every guest that is attending, and he made sure that there is extra security at the doors. Despite his precautions, he’s always been the type to be on guard in case something unexpected happens.

Like for example, when he finds out that one of the guests brings a date, and that should  _ not _ be allowed at all. However, Xiao, the person in charge of planning the event, is being too flexible with the guest numbers. He doesn’t like it, but he’s forced to work under these circumstances. Which is why he’s standing close to the ambassador instead of the two feet distance that they agreed on. Yixing doesn’t even notice the difference since he’s too busy greeting and talking to many guests.

As the night progresses, they continue with performances from a dance group that came from China. There are suddenly loud noises and a surge of movements as the guests watch the performance. It causes Jongdae to focus on their surroundings even more since there will be distractions. And he was right to do so since he immediately notices a failing prop on the stage.

One of the fake beam wobbles and Jongdae rushes to the stage to save the performers. He saves one of them, but the other performer is now stuck underneath the beam and Jongdae can see the painful expression on her face. He doesn’t panic though as he crawls to the woman and tells her to relax so he can move the beam.

There’s chaos amongst the guests as they react in surprise and in shock, while the staff rushes to help the performers. A few people are calling the ambulance and others are watching the scenes unfold in front of them.

Jongdae doesn’t pay attention to them as he beckons a male performer to help him move the beam.

“Wait,” he tells him in Mandarin while holding his hand up. He gestures to the man to come to him and points to where he’s standing. “You lift here.”

Then he rushes to the end of the beam while saying “wait, wait” so the male dancer won’t try lifting it before him.

He gives a signal using his fingers, 1...2…3 and starts to lift it together. He drags the beam away from the woman and the male dancer follows his lead.

“No! Don’t!” he panics when he sees the other dancers try to move the victim. It’s not advisable to move an injured person who might be suffering from a spinal injury, and he’s worried that they might make it worse.

The dancers don’t seem to understand his intention though due to the language barrier. He’s frustrated, but yelling at them won’t solve anything. 

“Don’t move her. You can’t move someone who might suffer a spinal injury,” he says out loud in Hangul, hoping that someone here might understand him.

“Don’t move her. She’s injured!” Someone shouts and Jongdae looks for the source, which was Luhan. He nods in gratitude at the elder.

“When is the ambulance coming?” someone asks.

“Who made this beam?!” someone says angrily.

Jongdae doesn’t pay attention to that chaos. He suddenly realizes that Yixing isn’t in his standing spot, and he panics again, thinking something has happened to the ambassador.

He walks away and looks for him, worried that he has failed his job.

He thought about Yixing’s habit of hiding, and that maybe the elder is hiding somewhere in the embassy. But then he sees him, and he’s able to let out that breath of worry.

Yixing stands with his staff with a fierce expression, looking upset about the situation. He’s scolding the planning committee and Jongdae can practically hear the words ‘fix it’ before the elder walks away.

Jongdae stands rooted as he watches the ambassador tackle this issue head-on. He should have known from weeks of watching Yixing that the ambassador is a dedicated person to his job. Maybe he shouldn’t be surprised that Yixing seems so serious as he goes around to check the guests’ safety and listens to the complaints that he receives. It’s a different sight to comprehend for Jongdae and it’s probably the first time that he finally sees Yixing’s worth. 

~ ~ ~

An investigation was opened after that accident. China was upset about it and Korea didn’t want to take the blame, so everyone was interviewed and scrutinized for their mistakes.

Jongdae was once again the center of attention as some of them used his statement of accounts to prove who was wrong and who was right. Jongdae himself didn’t care about whose fault it was. All he wanted was to go to work and have things back to normal.

Luckily, the investigation didn’t last long as some staff got fired, and the event management company that helped them was also under fire for not keeping up with safety regulations.

By the time things get back to normal, Jongdae receives news that Yixing is heading to China for two weeks and he will be joining him for the trip.

He’s not looking forward to it, already worrying that he’ll butcher the language and offend everyone that he meets. Though Jungah tells him that his pronunciation  _ is _ getting better and that only eases a bit of his anxiety.

When the day comes, he watches over Yixing as they go through security and customs. As they wait in the transit area, Jongdae opens up his Korean to Mandarin book and tries to freshen up his memory.

Yixing watches him from across and he finds it amusing that the younger is studying the last minute. He has noticed that the past few weeks that Jongdae’s Mandarin isn’t as stilted as before. His limited vocabulary is still there, but the younger is getting better at understanding context. He should commend him for being a fast learner.

“You don’t have to study,” Yixing tells him in Hangul.

Like Jongdae, he’s also a bit stilted in Hangul, but his comprehension of the language is better than Jongdae’s. He just rarely uses Hangul even though he lives in Korea. Most of the people he meets require him to speak Mandarin.

Jongdae looks up at Yixing, surprised to hear him speak.

“You don’t need to study. I’ll help you,” he tells him a bit shyly.

It took them a while, but their relationship has recently improved from cold to mildly warm since the accident. They have now started saying ‘good morning’ and ‘how are you’ during the day. Yixing is no longer scared to approach Jongdae with questions either.

“Oh, thank you,” Jongdae tells him as he closes the book.

Yixing smiles a little at him before going back to his phone.

~ ~ ~

Jongdae stares at the countless Chinese characters on the menu and he can only understand the gist of it.

_ I think this says beef, but I don’t know which part of the beef they’re putting into this soup  _ \-- the younger wonders as he tries to decode the sentence.

He wishes he was back home in Korea where he can understand a freaking menu, but he has to suck it up for the next twelve days. He still hasn’t chosen what he wanted while most of the people beside him, who are also bodyguards, already ordered their food.

He tries asking them in English, but it seems that they don’t really like him, so he’s forced to figure this one on his own.

As he’s about to choose the safest option in the menu, he spies someone coming by and he looks up to see Yixing beside him.

“Did you choose?” the elder asks him in Hangul.

“I don’t know what to choose,” Jongdae admits truthfully, giving up immediately.

“What do you want to eat?”

“This one with beef, but no fat. I don’t know what that’s called,” Jongdae tries to explain, hoping that Yixing will understand.

It seems that he does as he calls over a waitress and speaks in rushed Mandarin. Jongdae doesn’t really know what he said, but he hopes that the elder gets it right.

As he waits for the food to come, he checks his phone and sees messages from Baekhyun about meeting up again, as well as Junmyeon asking if his trip is going well.

He keeps in touch with his old team, mostly because he misses seeing them, but he’s also curious to see how they’re doing without him. It seems that they’re able to move on and Jongdae is glad that they’re still working together as a cohesive team.

Occasionally, he’d meet up with them for some soju and they’d talk for hours. Despite reminiscing the good memories of his past, Jongdae has already moved on and he’s able to say that he likes this job as much as his previous one.

By the time the food comes, Jongdae is wary to try it, so he sticks his chopsticks inside and checks the content. Surprisingly, it is exactly the way he wanted it. He looks up from his bowl and sees Yixing’s expectant gaze on him.

Jongdae sends him a thumbs up and the elder smiles, nodding in reply.

~ ~ ~

During the rare free time that they have, Yixing tells Jongdae that he wants to sightsee Beijing while they have time. Jongdae follows him as usual, but this time the elder doesn’t let him bring his gun.

_ “You’re done,” the elder told him. “No work. Just pictures,” he clarified as he showed his camera _ .

Jongdae hesitated before eventually agreeing. It’s not like Yixing will know about the knife inside his boot.

They avoid going anywhere that has a lot of birds, so they end up heading to the street market where vendors sell street food.

Jongdae stares in horror at the weirdest things being sold, like fried scorpions or pig brains in a spicy and hot soup. He doesn’t quite understand the hype behind these weird foods, but it seems even the tourists like it. Luckily, Yixing seems to understand his distaste as he suggests other kinds of foods to him.

Like the huge stick of sausage that tasted quite delicious and spicy. He can’t help but laugh at Yixing’s reaction as the elder isn’t as fond of spicy food like he is. 

There were other delicious foods like long french fries and fried shrimps that tempt them, and they end up feeling full within an hour.

Jongdae never realized how great Yixing is as a tour guide until today. He’s suddenly glad that they’re slowly becoming friends.

  
  


~ September 2016 ~

Ever since their trip, Yixing finds himself being attuned to Jongdae’s presence. There’s no longer silence between them as Yixing sometimes make conversation with the younger. Most of the time, the duration is too short for his taste, but sometimes it’d be long enough for Yixing to enjoy their banter.

There’s still a language barrier between them, but somehow they’re able to understand each other better.

Maybe this is the result of being in constant presence of each other.

Despite their slow start, Yixing considers them to be some kind of friends and he certainly hopes that Jongdae feels the same way.

He’s been trying to make friends lately. There’s a feeling of loneliness since he’s unable to make friends with the staff and he doesn’t know many people besides Luhan. Maybe he’s too attached to his bodyguard to the point where he thinks of him as a friend, but he’s hopeless.

He doesn’t even know how to ask Jongdae if he would like to hang out with him sometime. Would the younger see it as a job requirement? Or would he enjoy it? The last time they went out for fun was to the street market in Beijing.

He wonders if he should take the risk and he’s tempted on asking Luhan for advice, but then he decides to risk it on a Friday night.

He keeps glancing at Jongdae as they sit next to each other inside the car. He still doesn’t know how to ask him.

“Everything okay?” Jongdae asks him.

“Yeah,” Yixing says too quickly before looking away. He feels like ditching the idea, but his brain keeps yelling at him to be braver. “Actually, I was thinking, are you free?”

“Free?” the younger asks in confusion.

“To go out,” the elder clarifies, but then realizes there might be a double meaning. “I mean to hang out and get a drink!”

Jongdae still looks at him as he tries to comprehend the question.

“Soju?” the elder ends up asking to make things easier.

“Okay,” the younger agrees and Yixing can only sigh in relief.

~ ~ ~

Yixing looks around at the semi-crowded fried chicken restaurant. It’s almost 10 pm, but there are still people drinking and eating, including loud office workers in the corner. Yixing has never experienced this kind of environment before. He wonders if this is how Koreans like to hang out after work.

“How many chickens do you want?” Jongdae asks him in Mandarin as he looks at the menu. He tries to keep the conversation in that language so the ambassador would feel comfortable.

“Um, 3,” Yixing says thinking the younger means pieces.

“3?” Jongdae says in surprise.

“Yeah. Can they just give me drumsticks only?” the elder requests and that’s when the younger starts chuckling at Yixing’s mistake. 

The elder thinks it’s the first time he has ever seen Jongdae laugh. He finds that he likes the younger’s joyful expression.

“What’s so funny?” he ends up asking.

“We’re ordering a whole chicken, so I don’t think you can finish 3 whole chickens,” the younger explains in Hangul.

Yixing blushes at his mistake, but he’s glad that the younger is enjoying himself.

“Let’s order 2,” the younger tells him in Mandarin and Yixing agrees as he nods.

As they wait for the food to come, the waiter gives them two bottles of soju and 2 glass shots.

Yixing follows Jongdae’s action as the younger opens his bottle and starts pouring a shot.

“Let’s speak casually,” Yixing tells him in Hangul. “You don’t have to speak in Mandarin tonight.”

“Oh, are you sure?” Jongdae asks worriedly.

“Yes,” the elder confirms. “Let’s enjoy the night as if we’re friends,” he suggests with a nervous heart.

“Okay,” the younger agrees easily and Yixing smiles in gratitude.

They start the conversation slowly, like the cities they grew up in. And soon, Yixing asks him about his family and how he ended up becoming an agent. In return, Jongdae tries to ask the same questions. 

The younger isn’t used to these kinds of conversations yet, and he’d usually avoid it when his old team would start asking, but for some reason, he doesn’t mind sharing some details with Yixing. Maybe it’s because he understands Yixing better after months of being by his side, or maybe he’s developing a fondness towards the ambassador.

He doesn’t mind either one.

  
  


~ May 2017 ~

It’s been more than a year since Jongdae switched careers and started to work for the Chinese embassy. He’s amazed at himself for lasting this long without feeling the need to quit from the boredom, but he finds himself  _ liking  _ this new life. It may not be as exciting as before, but he likes his job now.

It helps that the friendship between him and the ambassador starts to blossom over time. Though it’s still not as perfect as a regular friendship. Jongdae is still not the type to appear affectionate and friendly like most people, but Yixing understands him better than he did the first time they met. So they’re alright these days.

At the same time, he’s also making friends with the staff, now with his language barrier barely nonexistent. He finally knows to do banters with them without panicking about saying the wrong word. It’s something that he had wished for, and he’s glad to have accomplished this.

It’s even crazier to think that there was a moment in the past where Junmyeon asked him if he wanted to return to the agency. He wouldn’t be a team leader, but he’d be able to go back and work as an agent again. The offer sounded so tempting at that time, to the point where he wanted to say yes right away, but he ended up rejecting it.

He still doesn’t understand why, but he remembered seeing the sad expression on Yixing’s face when the elder found out about the offer. He also remembered how he hated knowing that he could cause so much sadness in the elder’s life. He thinks it must have been those two reasons that made him said no.

He doesn’t know what this happy feeling means whenever he sees the joy in Yixing’s face, but he figures that he still has the time to figure it out.

It's a rather warm morning when he goes to work today. He thinks it would be a nice day to walk along the Han river after work. He thinks about asking Yixing to join him, but he's not sure if the elder will have free time.

He learned from last year that the embassy is the busiest during the spring and summer season, so he figures that the ambassador will have to work late again.

He doesn't mind skipping that walk anyway. He can catch up with his reading instead.

He barely notices how the time goes by quickly until Yixing approaches him about lunch.

"What do you want to eat?" the elder asks.

"Oh, I'm up for anything," the younger replies.

"Bossam?"

"Sure," Jongdae chuckles at the elder's obsession with that food. "You know, we have other _ kinds _ of foods you can try."

"Nah," Yixing tells him while grinning.

They head towards the restaurant by car, but they couldn't find parking nearby, so they decide to walk to the place.

Jongdae forgot how crowded this area was until today. He suddenly feels wary as he walks besides Yixing, not knowing if some random attacker will suddenly show up.

It's unlikely that will happen. It's been months and there hasn’t been any violence yet. Even the death threats are rare these days. So maybe he's just feeling too overprotective for no reason.

He tries to ignore his instinctive feeling of acting like a protective parent. He simply walks like a normal bystander and follows Yixing to the restaurant.

By the time they're inside, Jongdae seems to have forgotten his worries and he's able to relax and enjoy his food. Yixing seems to be relaxing too, not worrying about work for once.

It's an hour later by the time they're done, and Jongdae checks the exit for any suspicious people before telling Yixing they can leave.

"You need to stop doing that," Yixing scolds him. "We're just having lunch and I doubt any of these people will harm me at daylight," the elder reasons.

"I can't help it," Jongdae says. "It's part of my job to worry about you."

"But you're not working right now. We're having lunch together as friends, not as a boss and his colleague," the elder argues.

"It's just habit for me. I always think I have to guard you, even if it's just lunch."

There's a silence between them as they keep walking.

"Is that how you always see me then? Just your job?" Yixing asks in hurt tone. "I thought we're friends."

"We are friends," Jongdae says, though feeling confused about why the elder sounds hurt.

"It doesn't seem like it," the elder mutters before walking away, much faster than Jongdae's pace.

The younger is left dumbfounded by the reaction.

~ ~ ~

There's a weird tension between them by night time and Jongdae isn't sure about what to say to make things better. He doesn’t even know what he said wrong. This is why he liked his old job. His teammates don't get offended easily.

The old Jongdae wouldn't have cared about this, but the current version of Jongdae doesn't like the guilt. He knows better than to sweep it aside and ignore the issue. Especially when Yixing is becoming a significant part of his life.

They're almost like a married couple with how much time they spend together. Baekhyun called him a 'work husband' and it's probably true since he worries about Yixing like a spouse would.

So he knows he has to fix it before the weekend. That's the deadline he's giving himself. Unfortunately, things aren't going his way.

Yixing got called into an unexpected trip to Beijing due to some classified issue.

Normally, Jongdae would go with him, but they're not allowing non-Chinese citizens into the building of the meeting. The younger thought that sounded like a stupid rule, and he wanted to informally protest, but he knew better than to open his mouth.

He tried fixing whatever issues they have before the ambassador leaves, but Yixing refuses to talk about it for some reason.

So he gave up, for now.

Instead, he brings Yixing to the airport because it's still his responsibility to make sure he has a safe ride.

It'll be the first time they're separated since starting to work together. Jongdae thinks it feels weird to be apart, even if it's just for three days.

He wonders if Yixing feels the same.

"Do you have everything?" The younger asks as he walks with him to the long line to go through customs.

"Yeah," Yixing says quietly.

"Do you know who's going to pick you up? And who your security team is?"

"Yeah," the elder says tiredly before reaching out to take his carry on from Jongdae.

The younger stops him before he could.

"I just…" he starts to say while feeling nervous.

"What?" Yixing frowns.

"I'm sorry," the younger says quietly. "I'm not good at this."

Jongdae expected him to say something back, but Yixing avoids his gaze.

"Please be careful, and try not to hide when you're scared," Jongdae says in the end with a little chuckle. He moves the carry on towards the elder and places Yixing's hand on the handle.

"Okay," the elder replies.

Jongdae watches from the sideline as Yixing slowly goes into the customs area. He wishes he could have said more, but he didn't know what to say that would have made it better for them.

In the end, he leaves the airport with a heavy heart.

~ ~ ~

The next three days feel restless for Jongdae. He doesn't need to come into the embassy if the ambassador isn't there, so he's been staying home watching the clock ticks by. 

He knows the elder isn't much of a texter, but he tries anyway. He asked Yixing if he's doing alright, or if the meetings are excruciatingly boring. The elder still replies, but not as detailed as Jongdae is used to.

But then the elder stops replying abruptly on the third day, the day Yixing was supposed to return. It makes Jongdae feel more anxious than before. He starts to wonder if he had said something wrong again or if the elder has decided to stop talking to him altogether.

He's tempted to call him, something he rarely does, but he doesn't know if Yixing would like it.

It only gets worse when Jongdae receives a phone call from Luhan.

"Where are you?"

"Home," the younger replies.

"I'm booking you a flight to Beijing and…"

"What? Why?" Jongdae demands, suddenly feeling a rush of anxiety in his heart. "What happened?!"

"I can't talk about it on the phone. How fast can you get to the airport?"

"In 30 minutes."

"Okay, I'll meet you in an hour. Pack for a week."

And the call ends.

Jongdae stands rooted, feeling fear for the first time before forcing himself to wake up and get his stuff ready.

He rushes quickly, barely double checking his clothes and focuses more on getting there quickly.

He ends up waiting for Luhan, but he tries to calm himself as he grabs some food, knowing that whatever bad news Luhan might give, it's better if he's not starving during it.

The elder arrives looking frazzled and Jongdae is immediately haunted by the possibility of bad news, like Yixing in a car accident or Yixing being kidnapped by one of the Triads. He doesn't know which kind of news he'd prefer, but as long as it's anything but death at this point.

"What is it?" Jongdae approaches him.

"There was an attack at the meeting and the assailants were targeting one of the diplomats, but he got out of the building before they could. So they decided to bargain hostages for that guy, but China doesn't make deals with terrorists," Luhan says in a rush while keeping his voice down.

Jongdae can only stare at him in shock.

"And Yixing is one of them?"

"Yeah," Luhan said grimly. "They're working with MSS, but there are hostages from different countries and it's causing a bureaucratic mess for everyone."

"What should I do?"

"Nothing. I just need you to be there for him. They're working on getting everyone out safely and once he's out, he's going to need you. I just need you to stay with him."

"Okay, I can do that," Jongdae says without hesitation.

"Here's your ticket. It's going to leave soon. Keep me updated."

Jongdae nods before saying thank you.

~ ~ ~

Once Jongdae arrives on the scene, he sees chaos as families are directed into one area, onlookers are told to leave, and agents are rushing to their positions. He's been in the third position for so many times and occasionally he's been an onlooker when he doesn't have clearance to get into the scene, but he admits he has never been the "family".

He knows he isn't Yixing's real family, but after spending so many hours together, he feels close enough to Yixing as if the elder was his family. He wonders if Yixing would think the same way.

Anyway, he doesn't really have time to ponder today. He needs to figure out where to go because he doesn't think he should be left out from the information, but he knows he doesn't have the clearance to get into the scene.

He's frustrated and severely worried about Yixing's mental state that he doesn't notice an approaching figure.

"Jongdae?"

"Hyung!" Jongdae greets the familiar face. He never thought he'd see Junmyeon in China, let alone right where he is.

"What are you doing here?" the elder asked worriedly. "Is everything okay?"

"No," the younger answers frustratedly. "The ambassador is one of the hostages and I don't know what I can do to help him. I should have stayed with him instead of letting him travel alone."

There's an expression of surprise in Junmyeon's face as if he's not expecting Jongdae to be so outright with the details. He's not used to seeing this side of Jongdae, but he chalks it up to his worried state.

"You can't predict these things," Junmyeon says softly. "It's going to be alright. Come on, let's go inside and I'll get you some info."

"I...I shouldn't. I don't have clearance and…"

"Stop worrying about it. Come on," he says as he drags Jongdae to follow him.

It doesn't take long before they reach command center.

"MSS is still leading the breach, but our team is on standby in case there are issues."

"Our team?" Jongdae asks in surprise. "They're here?"

"Yeah," Junmyeon grins as he points to one area. "We were actually finishing a mission nearby, so we were the closest one they could mobilize."

"Oh."

"You should come by and say hi to the guys later. They've all missed you, especially after hearing how you didn't want to come back," Junmyeon teases.

"Right," Jongdae says sheepishly. "It's nothing personal."

"Of course," the elder understands. "Let me ask Yifan for an update and I'll get back to you."

Jongdae suddenly remembers how Junmyeon has been in this committed relationship with Yifan despite the fact they live in different countries and work for different agencies. He'll never understand how their relationship works, but he supposes they are very committed to making things work.

As Jongdae waits for the elder, he looks into the big screen where they're showing the MSS team on their way to save the hostages. He can only hope that they're competent agents. 

~ ~ ~

There were loud cheerings when the hostages were saved, and the assailants were either apprehended or killed during the fight. But Jongdae doesn't focus on that. Instead, he runs to find Yixing and it takes a few minutes before he's able to see the familiar figure.

Yixing is being helped by an MSS agent and he’s limping while walking. Jongdae rushes to relieve the agent and tells him that he's with the ambassador.

Yixing seems so surprised to see him that he doesn't really believe Jongdae is really there beside him. Though the figure  _ does _ look so much like him and acts exactly like him.

"You're here?" He sounds surprised and weak. "How did you get here? When?"

"Today," Jongdae tells him. "Luhan told me what happened and I'm a fucking idiot for letting you come here alone. Is your leg okay? What happened?"

"I don't know. I think it's a sprain," Yixing tells him, unsure. 

As Jongdae checks his ankle for severity of the pain, Yixing can't help but look at Jongdae for the longest time.

"I still can't believe you came," Yixing mutters. "I thought I was hallucinating when I saw you."

"I'm here," Jongdae reconfirms. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Because it's your job?" the elder asks warily.

"No," Jongdae says easily. "Because I care about you," he admits. "Because we're friends," he says before giving him a small smile.

"Okay," Yixing says after a long silence and Jongdae looks back to him, smiling.

~ June 2016 ~

It's been a month since the incident and Yixing is slowly feeling back to normal. He doesn't get as much nightmares as he used to, and he's able to go out without the anxiety of being hunted down. Most of all, he still has Jongdae by his side, helping him through everything.

They're back to their original routine where Jongdae practically lives in his house. The elder is tempted on asking him to move in, that maybe it'll make it easier for him, but he isn't sure if Jongdae is ready for that.

He thinks back to their closest moments where Jongdae is taking care of him, from the time he found out that the younger is leaving him a plate of dinner on his table, to where he watches over him in case of danger. There's a touch of tenderness every time he thinks about their progression and it makes Yixing wonder if Jongdae could ever have feelings for him that are more than friendship.

The elder is already certain of his own feelings since a while ago. He probably realized it when he felt loved by the younger's protectiveness. He's not scared to admit it outloud, but he's waiting for Jongdae to realize it himself. Because while Jongdae is talented in many things, acknowledging his feelings is something the younger isn't great at. 

And he's alright with this. He's not expecting Jongdae to confess, because he's happy as they are. 

It shows when they're sitting in a coffee shop and Yixing is able to lean against Jongdae, almost resting his head on the younger. Unfortunately, they can't be too obvious in public due to scrutiny.

He thinks they'll get there one day. Just not today.

~ Extra Scene ~

Yixing has been wanting to go to the Han River lately, but never had the chance. So when they're finally free, they manage to take a walk there in the afternoon.

After their walk, they end up stopping by in a cafe. Yixing ends up sitting beside Jongdae and resting his head against Jongdae's shoulder.

It's at this position that some of Jongdae's old teammates find them in. 

"Hey, look who it is!" Baekhyun yells too loudly for everyone's taste.

"Baekhyun," Sungjae laughs.

Yixing suddenly straightens up once he notices them.

"Oh, hello," the elder stands up and the team bows to him. He walks closer to greet them.

"How are you hyung?" Sungjae asks. "Is your ankle better?"

"Yes, it is. Thank you," he smiles in gratitude. "Were you guys walking by the Han River today?"

"No, actually, we were running in our usual running path. We usually stop here for some coffee after."

"Ahhh."

"Jongdae would remember," Baekhyun teases. "He had a run with us."

"Possibly," Jongdae will only say.

Sungjae starts to ask questions about the rising protests in Hong Kong and Yixing seems happy enough to discuss it with him.

It's only then that Baekhyun sits next to Jongdae and gives him a smirk.

"You guys look cozy," he teases.

"Okay?" Jongdae says, a little confused.

"I didn't know you guys became a 'thing'," he adds in a more serious note.

"What do you mean?"

"You know," Baekhyun wiggles his eyebrows.

"No, I don't," Jongdae deadpans.

"Bah, never mind," Baekhyun rolls his eyes. "Call me when you open your eyes."

Jongdae still looks at him confused, and Baekhyun can only roll his eyes.

"Let me buy your coffees," Yixing offers. "Do you want anything else with it? Cakes? Cookies?"

"Ouh, yes. Can I walk you to the counter?" Baekhyun says.

"Sure," Yixing smiles. "Jongdae? Refill?"

"No, I'm good," he says.

"Okay."

Yixing heads to the counter followed by Jongdae's old teammates.

"Hyung, you seem really close to Jongdae now," Baekhyun starts to say. "I'm surprised he's not as closed off as he used to be."

"Ahh," Yixing acknowledges. "He was closed off in the beginning. Now, he's more open, I guess."

"How long did it take you guys to become close?"

"Hmm, a few months I think?" Yixing says unsure.

He takes a moment to order for everyone and they praise him for being so generous.

"Hyung," Baekhyun stops him before the elder goes back to his seat. "Thank you for being there for him. He doesn't really make friends and I'm glad that he has you."

"Ahh, I didn't do much," Yixing laughs at that.

"Still, I think he finds you quite special," Baekhyun hints.

"Yeah?" The elder smiles. "That's good. I want him to."

Baekhyun grins back as he finds the truth.

"What are you two talking about?" Jongdae asks with suspicion over their giggling.

"How hyung is getting tired of you. He should hire me instead!" Baekhyun jokes.

Jongdae scoffs at that.

"His attention span is like a baby's," Jongdae warns him. "And he doesn't really know  _ when  _ to shut up."

Baekhyun gasps, feeling a bit offended.

"See how mean he is! You were wrong to keep this guy!"

Yixing smiles as he hears their ridiculous fights, but he focuses more on Jongdae's face. He's glad to have the younger in his life.

**Author's Note:**

> Title is based on Yixing's perception of Jongdae as he gets to know the younger more.
> 
> A big thank you to Alexa for coddling me and making sure that I finished this. She even made me rewrite the ending because she wanted fluff for once (if you know her, she's pro angst). So please send her your gratitude or your favorite haikyuu gif as a thank you. You can tweet her @xingnini.
> 
> You don't have to tweet me. I'm just a xingdae slave 🤘


End file.
